Category Archives: eco fashion

SPOTTED – stunning leather craft from Wolfram Lohr

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Even before the recent surge in the old fashioned satchel, we had a very soft spot for old leather suitcases, doctors bags and monogrammed military issue shoulder bags. There is a sense of history with a leather piece - marks and scratches showing the passing of time and a map of where the item and the owner/s have been. Leather pieces also last a very long time, so are great for diverting away from landfill in the sustainability sense.

So we are always very interested to see how designers and makers take this very traditional craft into a modern setting. We were delighted when we found the beautiful bags, belts and accessories from Brighton based Wolfram Lohr at the Brighton Artists Open Houses.

The Post Mistress shoulder bag.

It was one of those moments when you see something, fall instantly in love with it, then instantly fall in love with the piece next door. And the piece next door to that.

The range of leather pieces by Wolfram Lohr follow a very utilitarian style, with beautifully simple and traditional shapes being updated with a very modern combination of colours and tiny details, such as contrasting threads and pencil loops within bags. Plus, most of the hides used within the leather work are vegetable tanned, eliminating the nasty chemicals commonly used in the process.

They really are a delight to behold. 

Plus, if you do not have the funds to stretch to one of the gorgeous post style bags (from around £100 – £580 for the laptop bag) there is a great range of accessories finished to the same impeccable detail, such as the mobile phone sleeve for only £28.

The pieces by Wolfram Lohr are a wonderful example of true craft, produced by hand and with care for a contemporary user.

See Wolfram Lohr at 3 Florence Road, Brighton as part of the Brighton Open Houses, or at the boutiques website.

(images via Wolfram Lohr)

the importance of humour in design – the Peter Bristol Clip Bag

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Design can, and does, create real change in the world. Change for the good. Design has the ability to progress humanity and alter lives for the better. Design is serious and we take our responsibility as designers very seriously indeed. But it is just as important to have a sense of humour and on occasions it is great to see design that makes you smile. We saw this on Pinterest and loved it – the Peter Bristol Clip Bag.

A little black bag is essential for any wardrobe, but (as you might expect) the ordinary bag does just not do it for us. It would have to be unusual in one way or another. And this is why we fell in love with this particular design.

It just looks exactly like the fold back clips that litter the studio and ironically, my own bag. Plus, it looks great as a lovely simple piece of design with that little bit of quirkyness. As Bristol observes,  ’new scale creates new purpose’.

Bristol is currently looking for manufacturers for the Clip Bag, so it could not be too long before you see me turning up to a meeting with a Clip Bag full of stray clips.

(image via Core77)

recycled plastic lights by Sarah Turner

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Every year, Ecobuild gets bigger and bigger – to the point that it gets a little eye glazing as you wander around discovering the latest tech in solar panels, biomass boilers, paint finishes and prefabricated buildings. Every now and then however, you turn a corner and see something quite unexpected, just like these fantastic recycled plastic lights by Sarah Turner. 

plastic light 1

Describing herself as both an artist and designer, Turner takes very standard plastic bottles and with a bit of reshaping, cutting, perforating and reconstruction, turns the otherwise recycling bin fodder into quite stunning lights and sculptures.

Ranging in size from desktop to absolutely huge, Turner’s recycled plastic lights have been featured in fashion shoots, events and were also included in the interior design of one of the Olympic cafes where Coca Cola commissioned a chandelier using their empty bottles.

plastic light 2

The melted plastic bottle chandelier at Ecobuild was absolutely beautiful and had a real glass like quality as the light filtered through the plastic.

But our favourite of the recycled plastic bottle lights has to the Ella – which includes over 300 bases which have been sandblasted to create a solid yet sculptural piece at over 1 metre wide.

Daisy 12

At Ecobuild, Turner was actually showcasing the connection methods she employs making these beautiful lights and it was very interesting to see how the structure soon took shape.

But as well as the large scale, very statement pieces, there is a range of smaller recycled plastic lights on her online store, so there will be something for everyone…

(images via claire potter and sarah turner)

wrap up with a woolly blanket

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For those of us who were lucky enough to get a covering of snow at the weekend, there was surely nothing better than getting cosy inside after getting chilly outside. Wrapping up warm with a woolly blanket and settling on the sofa with a cuppa just feels so much better when everything outside is carpeted in white. It sort of feels allowed.

But the woolly blanket does not have to be confined to snow days on the sofa – take off the chill in the evening, or use them as an additional layer at the bottom of the bed. Folded precisely, woolly blankets can be great decorative items for the bedroom or living room with the advantage of being useful as well.

We have a particular love for the simple, utilitarian style British wool blankets from the 40′s and 50′s which can be readily found in charity shops – pale cream with pastel stripes across the bottom - and you can still find for them very little money indeed.

But, there are also some beautiful wool blankets which are made from recycled or reclaimed wools. Here are a few that we think would make beautiful additions to the winter home.

Welsh Wool Picnic Blankets

 

 

 

 

Recycled welsh wool blankets by Ella James – £19.50 each

 

 

Green reclaimed throw

 

 

 

Reclaimed Scottish wool blankets from Biome Lifestyle – £60

 

 

Picnic blanket

 

 

 

 

Tartan style rugs made from recycled yarn in Wales, from Hen and Hammock – currently on sale at just £12.00 each

 

 

 

morse code blankets, which spell ‘LOVE’ from Holly Berry

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Vintage tapestry Welsh wool blankets from Welsh Blankets - example shown £79

 

(images via links)

Wednesday Walls – SPOTTED – a geometric trend for 2013?

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The recent break was a very welcome chance to not only recharge our batteries but also to catch up on a load of design reading from December with publications which had been piling up in the virtual and actual inbox of the studio. We read a huge amount of stuff each day, but what is interesting is how trends jump out at you when you read lots of stuff from lots of different places over the period of a single day.

One thing we spotted was a potential trend for interiors – Geometric wallpapers – which we saw in a great deal of late 2012 / early 2013 articles.

Using geometric patterns can be rather tricky, but there are now a load of wallpapers available which combine strong forms with muted colours, which mean that they are more flexible for a variety of locations.

So, for today’s Wednesday walls, here are a few we spotted over the break – some old, some new, but we think you will be seeing a lot more of them and their kind in 2013…

 

 

 

 

 

 

Harlequin Trellis in Teal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cole and Sons – Links

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cole and Sons – Labyrinth blue

 

 

 

 

 

 

MissPrint – Nectar in Mink

 

Cubix

 

 

 

 

 

 

Graham and Brown – Cubix

 

(images via associated links)

 

2012 Recap – the PANTONE spring colour report for 2013

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Last up in our 2012 recap and we are looking into 2013 with the massively influential Pantone colour report for Spring. The Ecospot will be back to normal from next week, with a raft of exciting stuff we spotted over the break.

29 Oct 2012

Interior design and to a degree, landscape design is hugely influenced by the fashion world which as we all know moves at the rate of knots. So, what will be the colours for Spring 2013? The Pantone Colour Report sheds a little light on what may be the next key colours, so for this week we will specifically looking at these shades and how they may be interpreted for the coming year.

But first, the overview of the Spring collection.

Reportedly, the Monaco Blue is set to be the top colour, which will be interesting to see. Not a particularly vibrant shade compared to last years Bright orange, but change is good. Muted can be used to great effect and any dark shade will make any colour placed in front of it sing.

We also really like the Greyed Jade (Pantone 14-6011), and the Poppy Red (Pantone 17-1664) – combined with the Dusk Blue (Pantone 16-4120) you have a very mid twentieth century styled colour palette.

The limey Tender Shoots (Pantone 14-0446) would be a perfect foil for our favourite dark greys – inside or outside. Maybe a stack of lime green hostas in front of a grey rendered wall? Or a reupholstered sofa in front of a dark grey wall?

So, why the choices? The Pantone Colour Institute’s Leatrice Eiseman explains…

Ok. We have the colours, now how will this relate to interior and landscape spaces over the next few months? We start to look at options for the colours above tomorrow.

(images via DesignTaxi and Pantone)

2012 Recap – the London 2012 Paralympics closing ceremony goes Steampunk

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How could we do a recap of 2012 without revisiting this post about the closing ceremony of the London 2012 Paralympics this summer? We were blown away by the theatre and creativity displayed in the ceremony. Truly awe inspiring. 

10 September 2012

A few weeks ago, we were feeling a bit blue after the finish of the wonderful London 2012 Olympic games. Today, we have that same feeling all over again as the truly magnificent Paralympics came to a close yesterday evening in a show of fireworks, Coldplay and strange vehicles.

It has to be said that all opening and closing ceremonies are huge spectacles meant to celebrate the host country as well as the event – which can sometimes lead to slightly odd or even stereotypical representations, but we were both surprised and delighted by the closing ceremony of the Paralympics. We enjoyed it more than the closing ceremony of the Olympics. And why? Because it was all about eclecticism, recycling, imagination and creativity. And it was a little bit steampunk.

The VT before the start of the ceremony featured a range of strange creature vehicles – steel, cogs and flames – heading for the stadium. It was a combination of Mad Max and Scrapheap challenge. On entering the stadium the vehicles, which represented seasons and the spirit paraded around, surrounded by characters with flaming poles. It looked magnificent.

The ‘Festival of the Flame’ used fire throughout the event – both in the dancing, on the vehicles and also to mark the grass itself. Characters entered the stadium and using flame throwers began to scorch the grass in the darkness. When the lights came back on in the stadium, a range of patterns were marked into the floor which became placings for the vehicles.

And really, as great as Coldplay was, we were just delighted by the vehicles, which, according to the Guardian had been designed and constructed in the UK by the team behind the 80′s Mutoid Waste Company completely from a collection of bits and pieces found in scrapyards across the land. The large fish vehicle was clad with painted hubcaps rescued from waste facilities and the car which brought Prince Edward and International Paralympic Committee President Sir Phillip Craven was part 1930′s car and an ex military armoured vehicle from Afghanistan. 

As viewers, we were delighted that the imagination and creativity of Great Britain were on show with the closing ceremony as Director Kim Gavin created a fantastic mix of upcycled and repurposed structures. Plus, as C4 commentator and past Paralympian Jeff Adams observed, many paralympians could relate to this customising theme as they often personally adjusted their own equipment to make it fit and perform better.

But, the last word has to go to Lord Coe, who summed up the entire Games and British design and creativity perfectly.

“Finally, there are some famous words you can find stamped on the bottom of a product. Words, that when you read them, you know mean high quality, mean skill, mean creativity. We have stamped those words on the Olympic and Paralympic Games of London 2012. London 2012. Made in Britain.”

(images via London 2012)

great gifts for Christmas – part four – the bike tyre belt

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Lets face it. Everyone needs a belt. Or two. Or if you are like us, about ten different ones so we can perfect an outfit so it is just right. Black, brown, skinny, oversized, single, multiple, regular buckled, aeroplane buckled, tied. There are so many varieties out there it can be a little mind boggling – especially when someone has one on their Christmas wish list.

But if we could only choose one sort of belt to wear for eternity, it would be black, hardwearing and a little bit weird. Wouldn’t it be great if we could have ALL of this in one belt? Wouldn’t it be fantastic if it was also locally made from recycled materials?

Bike Tyre Belt Chunky Style

And so we come to our great gift suggestion part four – the bike tyre belt.

We just adore this belt from Eco Logic Cool in Brighton. It ticks all of our wish list for belts and could just as easily be worn in a smart or dressed down setting. Imagine wearing this with a slick, sharp suit as well as down the pub with your jeans? Brilliant.

This sort of styling is great and right up our street – the added ‘twist’ to the normal which takes an outfit from the normal to the unexpected. Think lime green linings to Paul Smith suits, or barbed wire pinstriped shirts from Gresham Blake.

The belt can be cut to your exacting size, no two are ever the same and if you have your own tyre, they can also make a belt from your own donation as a special order. Just wonderful. As a DH / trails wannabe rider, I am a fan of the chunky, but if you know a wannabe Wiggo, why not get a super thin racing tyre belt made?

We would be chuffed to bits if we found this in our Christmas stockings and we are sure that many others would be too.

(image via Eco Logic Cool in Brighton)

the coffee bean sack upholstered chair from Hannah Linnett

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One great thing about being an interior design practice is the fantastic products we find, or get sent by other designers. It is a continual source of excitement for us – finding that unusual piece that will make a space really sing. Therefore we were delighted when we were sent some images by eco upholsterer Hannah Linnett who works in Leeds.

coffee bean sack chair

We were immediately struck by the beautiful rawness in her projects, which take classically shaped chairs and reinvent them with new upholstery made from reclaimed coffee bean sacks.

The rough texture of the sack provides a great contrast for other furnishings and is extremely hard wearing, so is a good choice for a chair.

We think they would be a great chair choice for a tongue in cheek, industrial interior designed coffee shop, or as one of a pair of fireside chairs – perfect for setting down with a good cuppa and a good book.

(image courtesy of Hannah Linnett)

Weekend colour inspiration – a Pantone spring colour scheme palette

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This series of blogs, published each Friday usually takes a colour palette from Design Seeds as inspiration for a colour scheme for an interior or exterior – with us picking some key accessories to suit your new space. But as we have been looking at the Pantone Spring colour report this week, we have done something different.

This weeks Weekend Colour Inspiration board is inspired by the Pantone report:

Now, usually we pick a selection of pieces to suit the colour scheme, but we have already done that for a few pieces for this week, so we have instead chosen a few colours from the above and re-coloured a couple of great images from our Pinterest boards to see how the colours would work together.

First up is a lovely industrial styled dining room, which utilises the Monaco Blue on the wall, as well as  the Tender Shoots on the lights, Poppy red on the chairs and Lemon Zest on the cushions.

This second image uses the Lemon Zest and the Poppy Red as highlight colours, which works well to add some bright contrast to an otherwise neutral scheme.

So – you can be brash, or be subtle with the selected colour scheme – choose a couple which sit nicely together and paint a wall and add a few key accessories.

(images via Pinterest, recoloured by claire potter design and Pantone)